Introduction

We are currently studying the book of Acts line by line. For several weeks now we’ve been examining the life, ministry, and speech of Stephen. Stephen had been brought before the Sanhedrin by Hellenistic Jews and false witnesses. They claimed that he had blasphemed God, Moses, the Law, and the temple through his gospel preaching. When asked if the charges were true he began to defend himself by reciting his knowledge of the Scriptures. He pointed them to Abraham and the covenant God made with him. He also reminded the Sanhedrin of Israel’s errors.

In Acts 7:1-8 Stephen showed them their idolatry. The religious leaders believed that God was with them because they were true Jews from the Promised Land and because they had the law and the temple. Stephen showed them that Abraham enjoyed the presence and salvation of God through faith rather than through his nationality, geographical location, and possessions.

In Acts 7:9-16 Stephen showed them how Israel’s first leaders, the patriarchs, rejected God’s chosen and anointed one, Joseph. He showed them how God was with Joseph and how God raised him up to be a world leader in Egypt regardless of the patriarch’s opposition to him. He showed them how God used Joseph to save Israel from a devastating famine that would have destroyed her.

Having successfully defended himself against the charge of blaspheming God, Stephen now moves to the second accusation, blasphemy of Moses. He shows just as he reveres God, so also does he honor Moses. Again he pleads “not guilty.” Stephen elucidates that defense by continuing his historical survey. With that said, our passage for examination this morning will be Acts 7:17-37. Please take your Bibles and turn there now.

Read Acts 7:17-37

Pray

Examine

Verse

17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.

Commentary

The time of promise refers to the time when God would fulfill His promise to Abraham. That promise was that He would give the land to him as a possession and to his offspring after him. By this time the patriarchs were dead and the people had increased and multiplied in Egypt. The descendants of Abraham enjoyed a prosperous period under the leadership of Joseph and Pharaoh. They had become content in Egypt. And that was part of the problem. They were supposed to return to the Promised Land. And so God sovereignly orchestrated events that would move Israel out of Egypt. After the deaths of Joseph and the pharaoh a new king took the throne. The new king was paranoid and grew more and more concerned with the growing population of Israelites in his homeland. He thought that the Israelites might join forces with an enemy and bring his kingdom down.

The new king persuaded his administration to subject the Israelites to hard labor as a means to oppress and control them. But hard labor failed to curb the Israelites numerical growth. They continued to have children and grow their families. So the new king turned to infanticide. Infanticide is the practice of killing infants or babies (Ex 1:15-22).

According to W. Tarn’s historical work on the Hellenistic Civilization, infanticide was a common method of limiting population growth, even at the beginning of the Christian era. Little did they know but during this oppression and infanticide God was about to bring the Israelites a deliverer. One who would rescue them from oppression and bring them to the place that they were supposed to go to. Look at verses 20-22:

Verse

20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, 21 and when he was exposed; Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

Commentary

The details of Moses’ life and ministry were well known to the Sanhedrin, so Stephen merely summarizes them to make his point. Sensitive to the accusation that he had blasphemed Moses, Stephen makes a point of praising him, describing him as beautiful in God’s sight. If Stephen was opposed to Moses, if he had blasphemed him, why would he say that he was beautiful in God’s sight? The phrase beautiful really played on the minds and hearts of the religious leaders. Over the centuries many fantastic stories had been cooked up about Moses. Rabbis taught that his beauty at birth lit up the room and that had been born circumcised.

Josephus wrote that when Moses’ nurse carried him down the street people would stop and stare at him. He wrote that when Moses grew up, he became the greatest of Egyptian generals and led the victorious campaign in far-off Ethiopia, where he married the princess of the land.” Stephen was familiar with the extra-biblical stories about Moses because they became part of rabbinic teaching. Whether he believed in those things or not is not clear. But he did, however, honor Moses by pointing to his beauty. The author of Hebrews did the same thing in the passage Paul read earlier. Look at 23-29:

Verse

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

Commentary

Even though Moses had been raised in Pharaoh’s palace he did not forget about the Hebrews. He remembered his own people. His mother had no doubt instilled this love and concern for them while he was young. In spite of his Egyptian enculturation and programming his admiration and love for the Lord’s people remained. At one point he went down to the labor camps with the intention of showing his people that he had come to save them. That opportunity came when an Egyptian taskmaster abused a Hebrew. Moses intervened and killed the Egyptian, hiding his body in the sand. He thought to himself that his act would persuade the Hebrews into believe that he was their deliverer. But on the next day when he tried to stop an argument between two of them one of them thrust him aside and said, “What are you doing, are you going to kill me too…”

Moses realized that his people had failed to receive him as their deliverer. His act of justice created fear and rejection rather than acceptance and support. And then Pharaoh heard about what happened. Thinking that Moses was trying to lead an insurrection he set out to capture and kill him. Moses then fled to the land of Midian where he married and had two sons. MacArthur wrote this about the text:

“Israel’s foolish rejection of Moses served to lengthen their time in bondage by forty years.”

MacArthur implies that Moses’ actions could have brought the Israelites out of Egypt much earlier if only they had followed Moses’ lead. I disagree. I like Harrison’s commentary better. He wrote,

“Seizing an opportunity to intervene on behalf of a Hebrew who was being mistreated by a taskmaster, he thought that this would be a kind of signal for an uprising, which he would be happy to lead. But it was an unrealistic dream, and it became a near disaster for himself when he ended up killing the Egyptian. He had not learned to match bravery with self-control. God was unwilling to entrust the leadership of His people to one who was not yet fit to lead. The evidence for his unfitness lies in the fact that he was not penitent over the murder he had committed but was back the next day trying to persuade the Hebrews that he was their captain by posing as intermediary between two of their number who were quarreling. The rebuff he received, plus the awareness that the killing was now public knowledge, determined his next step.”

That sounds more realistic to me. When you factor in the length of time that Moses was away, 40 years, and the de-programming that took place during that time, how he went from being an educated Egyptian prince to a humble somewhat cowardly and dull of speech shepherd, Harrison’s commentary seems to make the most sense. God had a lot of work to do on Moses before using him to bring the people out. As an Egyptian Moses was proud, strong, and worldly. He committed murder. God had to break him of those things. He had to transform him into His divine mouthpiece. God was not interested in Moses muscle and might. This became plain to see when he failed the first time around. God desired to strip Moses of what Egypt had instilled. He was interested in humbling Moses and giving him a pastor shepherds heart. God was going to use Moses to speak to Pharaoh as a message bearer rather than as a type of military leader. When it came time to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt God didn’t exert his power through Moses. He exerted it through his and Aaron’s staff and through nature (Exodus 7:19-20, 8:5, 9:22, 10:12, 10:21, & 14:16).

After 40 years of de-programming and transformation, God saw fit to give Moses his calling. Look at verses 30-34.

Verse

30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord:

32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

Commentary

What Moses had sought and failed to achieve on his own became his by divine appointment at the burning bush. While in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him from a burning bush. The fire represented God who the Bible says is a “consuming fire”. Moses was amazed at what he saw. He drew near to take a closer look. And then he heard the voice of the Lord. He said, ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’

This was God’s way of renewing the covenant he made with Moses’ forefathers. Fear came over Moses as he listened to the voice of God. His mother had taught him about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. She educated him. He knew about God’s righteous acts and devastating power. He knew about events like the great flood, the tower of Babel, Abraham’s victory against the 4 kings from central Mesopotamia, and he knew about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. All of these things were carried out by the mighty hand of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses may have also known that seeing the face of God meant certain death. During the Exodus he asked God to show him His glory. In Exodus 33:20 God said, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

Moses feared God and when he heard his voice he trembled and turned his face. And then God spoke some more. He said, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Stephen’s employment of this text was highly significant because it underscored the truth that God is free to reveal Himself wherever He is pleased to do so; and this place was well outside the so-called holy land. Also, “Holy ground” or as other translations put it, “Holy place” was the special title that the religious leaders gave to the temple. The temple and the temple alone was “holy ground” or the “holy place”. It was inconceivable to the Sanhedrin that any other place been called “holy ground”.

By taking this position they actually rejected their own scripture because the original passage in Exodus 3:5 calls the place of the burning bush “holy ground”. What made this place holy ground? It was the presence of the Divine. It was the presence of the Holy God. Apart from the presence of the Holy God, Sinai was just a mountain. It is the Divine’s touch or presence that sanctifies the person, place, or thing as holy. Apart from Him they are all ordinary and plain.

This too was a biblical concept that had escaped Stephen’s hearers. Their belief was based on the past. At one time the temple was holy ground because God was there. But God brought about a new way of manifesting His presence here through Jesus. His presence on earth is made manifest in the hearts of those who love Him. His people are His temple on earth. God makes them holy by the blood of His Son so that He may dwell within them.

The religious leaders had rejected this new dispensation because they rejected its author and orchestrator, Jesus. They kept claiming that the temple was the one and only holy ground. Stephen shows them through Moses’ example that God can go where ever He likes, that He operates outside of the holy land, and that He can sanctify as holy whatever He desires to sanctify as holy; even a mountain in Egypt! Matthew Henry made a great comment on the subject.

Matthew Henry

“Men deceive themselves, if they think God cannot do what he sees to be good anywhere; he can bring his people into a wilderness, and there speak comfortably to them.”

Interestingly, the taking off of ones shoes or sandals in holy places actually became regular practice. The ancient Jews were especially not permitted to enter a temple or holy place with their shoes on. Other religions such as Islam and Buddhism adopted this practice and still uphold it today. So Moses, out of reverent fear, slipped off his sandals and then God continued to speak. What God says here should encourage each of us greatly. Look at 34.

Verse

34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

Commentary

God was tentative to His people’s needs. He saw their affliction and He heard their groaning. This throws a monkey wrench into that worthless philosophical idea that God created everything and then removed Himself. That He is disconnected from his creation. That He is far removed. No, God looked at his people with his own eyes, he saw their affliction, and He heard them with his own ears, He heard their groaning. And then it says, “I have come down to deliver them.” Who was Israel’s deliverer? Was it Moses? No, not in a literal sense.

It was God. When Moses tried to deliver the people on his own he failed. But when God went with Him he prevailed. It was God who exercised His mighty power and rescued the Hebrews from the clutches of Pharaoh.

It was God who summoned the forces of nature and the animal kingdom against Egypt, bugs! It was God who used Aaron and Moses’ staffs as lightning rods for His divine power. God was Israel’s deliverer.

And yet, Stephen’s hearers had assigned too much ability, giftedness, and glory to Moses. They developed legends about him. It reached the level of idolatry. Any portrayal of Moses that fell short of his ‘legendary status’ was considered blasphemous. To exalt Jesus above Moses was blasphemous. Without a hint of disrespect towards Moses, Stephen exalted Jesus above him and everyone else. That is what Christians are supposed to do. That is what Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and the prophets did. They all exalted the coming Messiah. Their entire hope was in him! Now after describing the finer and familiar points of Moses, Stephen begins to make his point. Look at 35-36.

Verse

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

Commentary

What we see here is a constant pattern in Israel’s history---spiritual pride coupled with spiritual ignorance that causes them to reject the deliverers God sends to them. The religious leaders of Stephen’s day used to boast that if they had lived during the days of Israel’s forefathers they would not have taken part in the shedding of the prophet’s blood (Matt 23:30). Like they would have been able to recognize and submit to those whom God sent. What pride and arrogance. To think that they would have been different or better than their predecessors. How foolish! Jesus rebuked them calling them a brood of vipers for their arrogance! Some have argued that if Jesus had been Israel’s true deliverer there is no way the people would have missed him. As Stephen points out, however, they rejected both Joseph and Moses. This was their typical response to those God sent to deliver them. The rejection of Jesus proves that the Sanhedrin would have made the same mistakes as their forefathers if they had lived back then. The fact that they were trying to stop Stephen and the apostles proves that point.

Stephen reminds them that the Moses that the Hebrews rejected was the same Moses that was visited by the angel at the burning bush and the same Moses who lead them out of Egypt by performing many wonders and signs and the same Moses that was with them for 40 years in the wilderness. He also reminds them of one of Moses’ prophesies. Look at 37.

Verse

37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’

Commentary

In Deuteronomy 18:15 & 18 Moses proclaimed that a prophet like himself would come to lead the Israelites. Moses was speaking of Jesus. Listen to the similarities between Moses and Jesus. Here are 9.

Moses and Jesus were rejected by their own people.

Moses and Jesus were threatened by authorities.

Moses and Jesus left the glories and luxuries of a better place for the sake of their people.

Moses and Jesus spent time in the wilderness.Moses and Jesus worked signs and wonders.

Moses and Jesus were deliverers.Moses and Jesus met with God on a mountain.

Moses and Jesus issued laws and ordinances.

Moses and Jesus served as shepherds to their people.

Philip, who later became one of Jesus’ disciples, testified to who Jesus is. He said this to his friend Nathanael in John 1:45,

“We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

After Jesus fed 5,000 in John 6:14, the people began to exclaim, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” The people were referencing Deuteronomy 18:15. They believed that Jesus was the Moses-like prophet and they hailed Him as such.

The apostle Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the Moses-like prophet that had come when he preached in Solomon’s Portico right after healing the lame beggar (Acts 3:22).

Tragically, had the Sanhedrin been willing to consider the facts, they could not have missed the parallels between their nation’s history and their behavior towards Jesus. Nor could they have missed the parallels between Jesus and Moses. I think it’s safe to say that Stephen did a pretty good job of defending himself against the allegation of blasphemy Moses. I think it’s safe to say that he did a pretty good job of exposing his persecutors error. I think it’s safe to say that he did a pretty superb job conveying Christ through the story of Moses. In closing I’d like to challenge each of us.

These are some pretty compelling truths that we’ve heard today.

And yet there could be some present that still share the position of the Sanhedrin. You’ve heard the Word of God state its case for the Messiahship of Jesus quite plainly. And yet you’re not convinced. Maybe your reason for not being convinced has less to do with what you’ve heard and more to do with your love of sin? That was clearly the case with the Sanhedrin. Those men were filled with religious pride, greed, control, and lust for power. What are you filled with? What is blocking you? Could it be that Jesus is calling you to repent and believe in Him at this very moment? What are you waiting for?

And then there’s rest of us, those who are already in Christ. What might we be able to take away from today’s lesson? I have some ending questions and thoughts.

Are you content in Egypt? Does your love for the easy life keep you from stepping out in faith, from taking risks, or worse, from doing what God is calling you to do? The Israelites struggled with this. Do you?

Moses, by faith, turned away from the lap of luxury to fight the injustices that were being perpetrated against his people. How have you, by faith, given of your time, talent, and treasure to advance the gospel which rescues people from the oppression of the devil?

Maybe you’ve attempted to serve God and yet somehow it didn’t work out and now you’re a little discouraged or even disenfranchised? Maybe those around you didn’t receive you the way you hoped they would? Is it possible that the reason you failed is because you engaged a little pre-maturely? Maybe God had more to teach you and that’s why it fell apart? Maybe you need to be like Moses and spend some time in the wilderness with the Lord where He can mold and shape you? Don’t give up. Seek Him for wisdom, skill, and timing.

As Christians do we realize that our bodies are holy ground? Do we realize that our bodies are the Lord’s temple? What sort of irreverent things have we allowed to come in and take up residency in the Lord’s place? Moses had to remove his shoes. What do we need to remove?